Many doll skeleton include pivot joints for arms legs, shoulder and hips for dolls. In some instances these joints are simple hinges. Hinges provide limited motion and do not permit rotation relative to the longitudinal axis of a member to which the joint is attached. In some cases these joints have an additional rotational joint, which contributes to the degrees of freedom of the connection but creates an arbitrary and unnatural motion.
In other structures, linkages are employed which include a series of ball and socket joints. These provide sufficient flexibility to arms and legs of the doll, but don not limit the movement of these appendages when they are extended beyond natural ranges of motion. This is particularly true for structures including these ball and socket joints for the spine or backbone of the doll. Ball and socket joints employed in the backbone can often lead to unnatural contorsions not normally possible in humans.
Therefore, a need exists for a skeletal structure for dolls and toys, which limits motion of at least the backbone to provide a more natural motion for the doll or toy.